The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a method and an apparatus for repelling a detectable drone whose flight control and/or whose drone flight path can be influenced by a repulsion procedure.
Drones have become enormously widespread in recent years. This circumstance entails the fact that not only experienced users but also inexperienced persons control drones. This latter point has as a consequence, amongst other things, the result that dangerous situations arise from the lack of experience of the persons and through the faulty assessment of situations.
Some embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter relate in particular to dangerous situations, the dangerous situations arising through the presence of drones in the region of airfields, landing zones or flying objects. Some embodiments are particularly concerned with the aspect of repelling drones from the locations and/or flying objects.
When a flying object such as, for example, a helicopter is being used for a rescue operation, such an operation of a flying object can take place equally well in an urban area or in a mountain range. In such operations, the flying object can with a high probability fly through regions in which drones are flying. The flying object will, in particular when landing or taking off, fly through airspace levels with a regulated air traffic and with an unregulated air traffic. Drones that represent a danger for the flying object will increasingly be flying in those zones with an unregulated air traffic. A flying object is in particular in danger when drones collide with the flying object and thereby damage one of the many important components of the flying object such as, for example, the propellers of a helicopter.
At the same time, drones can be used in an operation. Drones can, for example, assist the pilot of a helicopter with the control of a flying object in the context of such an operation. The task thus arises of only repelling drones present in the region of a flying object to be secured and/or in the region of a location to be secured to the extent that the necessary safety that may be is established.
Methods and apparatuses by which drones can be repelled from the locations are known to the related art. These methods and apparatuses according to the related art is largely based on the detection and recognition of the drones, the influencing of the drone control by an interfering signal, and on the attacking and/or trapping of the drones.
The company Dedrone (see also www.dedrone.com) is a supplier of drone repulsion systems which are restricted to the recognition of the drones and the output of a signal. These systems are in no way able to ensure that a drone-free region such as, for example, an airfield or a flight path is intact.
Another system is offered by the company Blighter (see also blighter.com). This system combines the method of recognizing a drone and, further, the method of the output of an interfering signal in order to force the detected drone to land.
The dynopsis system is offered by the company Dronedefence (see also www.dronedefence.co.uk/dynopsis-ECM). With this system too an interfering signal is output without any kind of spatial limitation or concentration.
In reference to methods for the output of interfering signals, we refer, for example, to the documents U.S. Pat. No. 8,543,053, US20150302858, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,085,362. The output of interfering signals to influence the control of a drone or of the drone flight path is thus known to the related art.
The methods mentioned above for trapping a drone that is to be repelled include casting a net, firing munitions at the drone, and hunting the drone with further drones that physically capture the drone that is to be repelled and force it to land. The capture of a drone that is to be repelled can also include the use of specially trained animals, birds in particular.
A repulsion measure can accordingly include the output of an interfering signal as described above for influencing the control of the drone and/or the capture of the drone.
An interfering signal can have the effect that a radio signal for controlling the drone is interrupted. The drone can hereby be forced to carry out a prescribed motion.
One of ordinary skill in the art understands that the devices and methods described above by way of example are in no way appropriate for securing a sensitive region such as an airfield, a landing zone, or the surroundings of a flying object or a flying object.